Job timer



Aug 16, 1955 R. s. ROBERTS 2,715,310

JOB TIMER Filed Feb. 12, 1954 /0\{ le 22% '//4 /Z/ 2" y F76/ 40 qa 54 4e E Q0 #en INVENTOR. @AY 6.50552715- United States Patent O JB TIMER Ray S. Roberts, Naples, Idaho Application February 12, 1954, Serial No. 409,830

5 Claims. (Cl. 58-S0) This invention relates to time control mechanisms and more particularly to a time-check or job timer.

It is an object of this invention to provide a job timer for determining the cost of work done in factories or other establishments where work is performed by laborers paid by the hour, and where it is desirable to ascertain the cost of time spent by the laborer on a certain job or piece of work both from the point of View of cost analysis and to accurately gauge the value of the laborers time with respect to wages received.

It is another object of this invention to provide a job timer which will be easier to read for the calculations subsequently required and shows at any time the elapsed time since the beginning of the particular operation for which the cost is to be determined.

Another and still further object of this invention is to provide a job timer which is quickly and easily reset and which is of simple construction capable of inexpensive manufacture so that a plurality of such timers may be used without incurring undue expense.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description, forming the specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a time control mechanism embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a partial vertical cross sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a partial side elevational View showing the operation of the resetting means.

With continued reference to the drawing, there is shown a time-check or job timer, generally indicated at 10, comprising a cabinet or housing 12 preferably made of a light metal material having a calibrated dial 14 on its outer face 16. On the dial 14 are indicated the hours from "1 to 24, as shown in Figure 1 and a scale 18 in which the spaces between the numerals indicate tenths of an hour, each tenth being consecutively numbered as shown in Figure 1.

A clock movement or motor 20 is disposed within the housing 12 and is adapted to cause rotation of its drive shaft 22. The drive shaft 22 extends perpendicularly to the plane of the outer face 16 and extends through a central opening 24 provided in the side of the housing 12 wherein the outer face 16 thereof carries the dial 14 thereon so that the shaft 22 extends outwardly from the outer or front face 16. The end of the shaft 22 remote from the clock motor 20 has iixedly secured thereto a minute hand 26 which extends perpendicularly thereto and overlies the dial 14.

Mounted on the shaft 22 for rotation therewith is a gear 2S adapted to mesh with a larger gear 30 suitably journaled in the housing 12 and carrying thereon an outwardly projecting centrally disposed smaller gear 32 which meshes with and drives a larger gear 34 carried on a sleeve 36 freely movable about the shaft 22. Adjacent the end of the sleeve 36 remote from the gear 34 is an integrally formed outwardly projecting flange 38 which by the gears 2S, 30, 32, and 34.

2,715,310 Patented Aug. 16, 1955 ICC forms a stop against which one side of an hour hand 40 may abut, the hour hand 40 being rotatably mounted upon the sleeve 36 and is held in frictional engagement with the stop flange 38 by means of a spring 42 which surrounds the sleeve 36 and extends from one side of the hour hand remote from the stop flange 38 to the boss 44 formed on one face of the gear 34 remote from the clock motor 20, the boss 44 forming a seat for the end of the spring remote from the hour hand. Thus, it will be seen that the clock motor is arranged to move the drive shaft 22 so as to cause the minute hand 26 to rotate with relation to the dial 14 and to make one rotation per hour while the hour hand is also driven from the drive shaft 22 by means of the operative connection afforded The spring 42 which urges the hour hand 40 into frictional engagement with the stop flange 38 on the collar 32 will insure rotation of the hour hand with relation to the dial 14 in response to the movement of the gear train operatively connecting the hour hand to the drive shaft. The train of gears operatively connecting the hour hand 40 to the drive shaft 22 has such ratio therebetween as to produce on revolution per twenty-four hour period.

Carried on the outer face of the minute hand 26, that is the face thereof remote fromthe housing 12, is a disclike knob 46 which may be secured on the minute hand 26 as by welding and is disposed so that its center line is in axial alignment with the drive shaft 22 and the peripheral edge of the knob 46 is preferably knurled to provide a better gripping surface. The knob 46 is provided with a transverse passage 48 extending transversely therethrough adjacent its peripheral knurled edge 47 and receives therein the shank 50 of a plunger or plunger pin 52. The yhead S4 of the plunger 52 extends outwardly from the outer face, or the face remote from the minute hand 26, of the knob 46 while the enlarged, barrel-like end 56 formed at the end of the plunger 52 remote from the head S4 extends outwardly from the other face of the knob 46. A spring 58 surrounds the shank 50 of the plunger 52 and is disposed between the head 54 and the outer face of the knob 46 so as to resiliently urge the plunger 52 into a position where the shoulder 60 formed between the shank 50 and the barrel end 56 abuts against the inner face of the knob 46.

In operation, the plunger or plunger pin 52 acts as a resetting device in the following manner. Normally, the terminal end face of the barrel end 56 will be so positioned as to clear the hour hand 40 which is in spaced parallel relation to the minute hand 26 so that continuous operation of the job timer 10 will be possible and the elapsed time recorded upon the dial 14 in the number of hours and tenths of hours. However, upon completion of the job operation or a specic portion thereof for which the cost is to be determined, and another operation is to be started, the job timber 10, and more specifically the hands 26 and 40, will be reset to the starting position or position where both hands are in superimposed relation with their pointed ends in line with the "24 mark on the portion of the dial indicating the hours and aligned with the mark indicating the rst or nal tenth of the scale 18. To so reset the job timer, it is merely necessary to depress the plunger S2 which then moves in a rectilinear path perpendicular to the faces of the knob 46 and parallel but spaced from the axis of the shaft 22 so that the barrel end 56 will intersect the arcuate path of movement of the hour hand 40. With the plunger S2 moved in its rectilinear path toward the path of movement of the hour hand 40, and the knob 4-6 rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, the barrel end 56 of the plunger 52 will engage one side of the hour hand 40 so that it will be moved along with the minute hand 26 which moves upon rotation of the knob 46, to

the starting position. Then, the timing on a new job or operation may again be started, and the elapsed time in hours and tenths thereof recorded whereby the cost of the job or operation may be readily computed.

A switch 62 is mounted on the outer face 16 of one side of the housing 12 and is adapted to start and stop the clock motor 2l) so that in the event that there is an interruption in the job or operation being timed, the switch 62 may be moved to stop operation of the clock motor 20 and upon resumption of the job or operation, the switch 62 may again be moved so as to actuate the clock motor 20 and start the job timer from the point where the resumption has taken place. lt will be noted that the resetting plunger 52 is angularly offset with respect to the minute hand 26 and to the clockwise side thereof so that no matter what the relative position of the hands, the plunger wiil, upon movement in its arcuate path toward the hour hand d0, intersect the path of movement of the hour hand 40 to the clockwise side thereof so that it may readily and easily be moved to the starting position so as to have the job timer reset. 1n its movement to the reset or starting position, the hour hand 40 will move against the rictional engagement with the inner surface of the stop ange 38.

While there is shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the structure is susceptible to change and modification within the practicability of the invention and therefore should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A job timer comprising a housing having a dial on the outer face of one side thereof, a minute hand adapted to move in an arcuate path spaced outwardly from and in overlying relation to said dial, an hour hand in spaced parallel relation to said minute hand adapted to move in an arcuate path in overlying relation to said dial, a knob carried by said minute hand, a plunger carried by said knob adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to move in a rectilinear path to intersect the path of movement of said hour hand and engageable with said hour hand upon rotation of said knob to reset said hand with relation to said dial.

2. A job timer comprising a housing having a dial on the outer face of one side thereof, a minute hand adapted to move in an arcuate path spaced outwardly from and in overlying7 relation to said dial, an hour hand in spaced parallel relation to said minute hand adapted to move in an arcuate path in overlying relation to said dial, a knob carried by said minute hand, a plunger carried by said ..11

knob adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to move in a rectilinear path to intersect the path of movement of said hour hand and cngagcable with said hour hand upon rotation of said knob to reset said hand with relation to said dial, and a spring carried by said plunger disposed between one end of the plunger remote fro'n said minute hand and the adjacent face of the knob to resiliently urge said plunger in one direction in its rectilinear path from said hour hand.

3. A job timer comprising a housing having a dial on the outer face of one side thereof, a minute hand adapted to move in an arcuate path spaced outwardly from and in overlying relation to said dial, an hour hand in spaced parallel relation to said minute hand adapted to move n an arcuate path in overlying relation to said dial, a knob carried by said minute hand, a plunger carried by said knob adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to move in a rectilinear path to intersect the path of movenient of said hour hand and engageable with said hour hand upon rotation of said knob to reset said hand with relation to said dial, and a spring carried by said plunger disposed between one end of the plunger remote from said minute hand and the adjacent face of the knob to resiliently urge said plunger in one direction in its rectilinear path away fromsaid hour hand, and a clock motor carried by said housing therewithin and operatively ccnnected to said hour hand and said minute hand to move them in their arcuate paths.

4. A job timer comprising a housing having a dial on the outer face of one side thereof, a clock motor having a drive shaft extending from one end thereof, a minute hand xedly carried by said shaft at one end thereof remote from said motor adapted to turn one revolution per hour, an hour hand mounted on said shaft for rotation thereabout, gear means operatively connecting said shaft to said hour hand to impart one revolution per twenty four hours to said hour hand, a resetting knob carried by said minute hand, a plunger carried by said knob adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to move in rectilinear path `to intersect the path of :nove` nient of said hour hand and engageable with said hour hand upon rotation of said knob to reset said hand with relation to said dial.

5. A job timer comprising a housing having a dial on the outer face of one side thereof, a clock motor having a drive shaft extending from one end thereof, a minute hand fixedly carried by said drive shaft at one end thereof remote from said motor for movement in an arcuate path in overlying spaced relation to said dial and adapted to turn one revolution per hour, a sleeve rotatably carried on said drive shaft, a stop flange integrally formed on said sleeve adjacent one end thereof, a gear train operatively connected between the said drive shaft and said sleeve to impart rotation to said sleeve at the rate of one revolution per twenty-four hours, an hour hand tixedly carried by said sleeve in abutting relation to said stop flange and disposed between said minute hand and said dial in spaced parallel relation thereto, a spring surrounding said sleeve to resiliently urge said hour hand into frictional engagement with said stop flange to permit said hour hand to move in an arcuate path at the same rate as said sleve, a resetting knob carried by said minute hand, a plunger carried by said knob adjacent the periphery thereof and adapted to move in a rectilinear path to intersect the path of movement of said hour hand and engageable with said hour hand upon rotation of said knob to reset said hand with relation to said dial.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,249,072 Wigelworth July l5, 1941 2,607,188 Bourquin Aug. 19, 1952 2,644,518 Hertrich July 7, i953 FOREIGN PATENTS 678,104 Great Britain Aug. 27, 1952 

